Stage 1 Fire restrictions go into effect throughout region; some exceptions in Lincoln area for now

Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest instituted Stage 1 fire restrictions throughout the forest beginning Friday, July 9 at 12:01 a.m., with the exception of the Lincoln Ranger District north of Highway 200 and the Rocky Mountain Ranger District.

"Drought conditions continue to worsen across the Forest, and the hot, dry, windy weather persists," according to a recent press release from the United States Forest Service. The fire restrictions are in place to "proactively mitigate fires" and to "protect our firefighters and communities by continuing to monitor humidity, fuel dryness, and temperatures and modifying

fire restrictions as necessary to mitigate human-caused wildfires," according to a quote from Fire Management Officer Kendal Wilson.

Stage 1 fire restrictions were also approved by the Lewis and Clark County Commissioners, effective Saturday, July 10 at 12:01 a.m. These restrictions have an exemption for public and private property west of the Continental Divide, which includes Lincoln.

Restricted activities include "building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire unless noted in the exemptions," as well as "smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials." Exemptions include campfires on public or private property with an approved fire ring, as well as all land within a city boundary. The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest restrictions also include a prohibition on welding or operating torches with open flames.

A complete list and map of the patchwork fire restrictions throughout Montana can be found on the Montana Fire Restrictions map maintained by the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation at http://www.mtfireinfo.org. The DNRC also maintains an Interactive Wildland Fire Map at gis.dnrc.mt.gov/apps/firemap/.

Fire restrictions placed by the county are done so in concert with other federal and state organizations to ensure similarity of restrictions, which makes enforcing the restrictions easier, noted Sheriff Dutton at Lincoln Government Day on July 2.

"As Fire Warden, I confer with Forest Service, I confer with DNRC, I confer with rural fire about their areas and how moisture, how the energy release component is doing," said Dutton, adding, "We meet every Tuesday morning and the stage discussions are led by DNRC. The zone we are in is all the way from the Canadian border to the Wyoming border. Sometimes they get a lot of pressure to go into stage restrictions, but we have to do it as a unit, otherwise enforcement is untenable."

The hot, dry conditions that have contributed to the stage restrictions have left Lincoln ahead of schedule in terms of fire fuel conditions, Lincoln's new District Ranger Rob Gump said during his first Government Day report.

Conditions in mid-June were two to three weeks ahead of schedule and he predicted the ongoing hot conditions will accelerate that.

"We're trending towards those conditions that we saw in the 2017 and 2019 fire seasons," Gump said, adding they began manning the Stonewall Lookout July 1.